TechMotivator - Definitions of Technology

Definitions

1. The branch of knowledge that deals with the industrial arts and sciences; utilization of such knowledge; the knowledge and means used to produce the material necessities of a society; the terminology of an art or science; technical nomenclature. New Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language, College Edition, Surjeet Publications, Delhi, India (2000).

2. The practice of any or all of the applied sciences that have practical value and / or industrial use: technical method(s) in a particular field of industry or art: technical nomenclature: technical means and skills characteristic of a particular civilisation, group, or period. Chamer’s English Dictionary.

3. 1. the study, development, and application of devices, machines, and techniques for manufacturing and productive processes. 2. a method or methodology that applies technical knowledge or tools. 3. the sum of a society’s or culture’s practical knowledge, especially with reference to its material culture. Encarta World English Dictionary, Macmillan India Ltd., Chennai (1999).

4. The practice, description and terminology of any or all of the applied sciences which have practical value and/or industrial use. Larousse Dictionary of Science and Technology, Allied Chambers (India) Ltd., New Delhi (1996); Chambers Science and Technology Dictionary, W&R Chambers Ltd. and Cambridge University Press (1988).

5. (The study and knowledge of) the practical, esp. industrial, use of scientific discoveries. Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Cambridge University Press (1997).

6. a. Scientific study and use of mechanical arts and applied sciences, e.g. engineering.

b. Application of this to practical tasks in industry, etc. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, Fourth Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford (1994).

b. The methods and materials thus used. Webster’s New Reference Library, Thomas Nelson Publishers (1984).

8. Body of knowledge relating to arts and crafts. It includes the history of the development of productive arts, the scientific principles underlying them, and descriptive accounts of processes employed in them. Everyman’s Encyclopaedia Vol. 11, J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., London (1967).

9. Systematic knowledge and action, usually of industrial processes but applicable to any recurrent activity. Technology is closely related to science and to engineering. Science deals with human’s understanding of the real world about them – the inherent properties of space, matter, energy, and their interactions. Engineering is the application of objective knowledge to the creation of plans, designs and means for achieving desired objectives. Technology deals with the tools and techniques for carrying out the plans. McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company (1989).

10. Technology refers to ways of making or doing things. The term “technology” is derived from the Greek techne, meaning “art” or “craft”; but it is generally used in either of two more restricted senses. In the narrower sense, “technology” refers only to the industrial processes that succeeded craft operations. In the broader sense, “technology” refers to all processes dealing with materials. Technology always has to be learned, whether in the form of manual dexterity or as an applied science. Encyclopaedia Americana Vol. 26, Grolier Incorporated (1986).

11. The use of tools, power, and materials, generally for the purposes of production. The Hutchinson Encyclopaedia 1998 Edition, Helicon (1997).

12. The fundamental application of scientific knowledge to the practical arts, resulting in improved industrial and commercial products of greater value to people. The New College Encyclopaedia, Galahad Books, New York (1978).

13. The use of tools, machines, materials, techniques, and sources of power to make work easier and more productive. The Cambridge Encyclopedia, David Crystal (Ed.), Cambridge University Press (1990).

1. Technology is the scientific study of the practical or industrial arts. The Oxford English Dictionary; The Management of Technology: Perception and opportunities, Paul Lowe, Chapman & Hall, UK (1995).

2. A set of pieces of knowledge, both practical and theoretical, know-how, methods, procedures and physical devices which incorporate such knowledge. (Dosi (1984)) The Management of Technology: Perception and opportunities, Paul Lowe, Chapman & Hall, UK (1995).

3. A sufficient body of knowledge or industrial practice to provide a lecture course at a final year university degree course or at master’s level. (Langridge et al. (1972)). The Management of Technology: Perception and opportunities, Paul Lowe, Chapman & Hall, UK (1995).

4. The collection of plant, machines, tools and methods available at a given time for the execution of the production task. Woodward (1965); The Management of Technology: Perception and opportunities, Paul Lowe, Chapman & Hall, UK (1995).

6. A technology is the structured application of scientific principles and practical knowledge to physical entities and systems. The Management of Technology: Perception and opportunities, Paul Lowe, Chapman & Hall, UK (1995).

7. The knowledge of how to produce something is called technology. An Introduction to Management, Joseph A. Litterer, John Wiley & Sons (1978).

8. Technology denotes the broad area of purposeful application of the contents of the physical, life, and behavioural sciences. It comprises the entire notion of technics as well as the medical, agricultural, management and other fields with their total hardware and software contents. Technological Forecasting in Perspective, Erich Jantsch, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

9. Technology is defined as the knowledge of the manipulation of nature for human purposes. Strategic Technology Management, Frederick Betz, McGraw – Hill Inc., Singapore (1994).

10. Technology is the systematic application of organized knowledge to practical activities especially, productive ones. Technological Forecasting and Long-Range Planning, Robert U. Ayres, McGraw – Hill Book Company (1969).

11. Technology is “the system by which a society satisfies its needs and desires.” Managing Technology: The Strategic View, Lowell W. Steele, McGraw – Hill Inc., U. S. A. (1989).

12. Technology can be defined as all the knowledge, products, processes, tools, methods, and systems employed in the creation of goods or in providing services. In simple terms, technology is the way we do things. It is the means by which we accomplish objectives. Technology is the practical implementation of knowledge, a means of aiding human endeavor. Management of Technology: The Key to Competitiveness and Wealth Creation, Tarek M. Khalil, McGraw – Hill Book Co., Singapore (2000).

13. Technology is defined as the application of knowledge over the complete spectrum of the production process from research to market. The Management of Technology, Edward P. Hawthorne, McGraw – Hill Book Company (UK) Limited (1978).

14. Technology is the “learned means by which man utilizes the environment to satisfy his animal wants and cultural desires”. Man’s way: A preface to the understanding of human society, Walter Goldschmidt, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York (1967).

15. Technology is that form of human activity which is devoted to the production of technics [material products of human making or fabrication] and whose root function is to expand the realm of practical human possibility. From Followers to Leaders: Managing technology and innovation, Naushad Forbes and David Wield, Routledge (2002).

16. The term technology refers to all the knowledge, skill, tools, machines, materials and conditions required to perform work – this includes human abilities as well as machine capacity. Management Today: Managing Work in Organizations, Thomas J. Atchison & Winston W. Hill, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc. (1978).

1. Technology is any process based on observable and measurable results that produces or assists in the production of an end product with a demonstrable usefulness. A Definition of Technology and Educational Technology, Bruce Jones, EDT 5510, February 20, 1999, http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Campus/7941/techh.html

b. the methods, theory, and practices governing such application example: a highly developed technology

4. An object or sequence of operations created by man to assist in achieving some goal. A technology is a body of human knowledge that can be passed along from one place to another and from one generation to the next. Examples of technologies are: a bow and arrow; a birth control pill; a nuclear reactor; a legislature; and a planning, programming, budgeting system of accounting. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/TECHNOLOGY.html

5. The body of knowledge about, and the systematic study of, methods, techniques and hardware applied in the adaptation of the physical environment to man's needs and wants. The application of scientific knowledge to build or improve the infrastructure of agriculture, industry government and daily life. (Technology must not be confused with the very infrastructure it generates). Technology has autocatalytic properties. It favors the use of technical devices and processes even in solving social problems, e.g., by using fertilizers to enhance agricultural production rather than a different form of work organization, by using computers for national planning rather than decentralized decision making processes. (Krippendorff). http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/TECHNOLOGY.html

6. The systematic knowledge and the methods and procedures which can be used in a specific area in order to resolve practical problems. In some languages, e.g. French, Spanish, and German, this is clearly distinguished from “technic” ("technique", "tecnica", "Technik") which is the practical skill to use knowledge, methods, and procedures in a particular case in order to resolve a specific practical problem. (Hornung). http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/TECHNOLOGY.html

8. Technology is any tool or technique, any product or process, any physical equipment or method of doing or making, by which human capability is extended. Definition of Technology. http://www.ebs.hw.ac.uk/s4c/defn.htm

9. Technology is “the application of accumulated human knowledge to the transformation of resources, through the use of tools, for the purposes of meeting human needs or solving problems”. What is Technology? http://www.auburnschl.edu/users/pbuffington/techdefin.html

- a hardware component, i.e., the tool embodying the technology as a physical or material object, and

11. Technology is “the ‘know how’ and creative process that may utilize tools, resources and systems to solve problems to enhance control over the natural and man-made environment with an endeavour to improve the human condition”. What is Technology? http://www.auburnschl.edu/users/pbuffington/techdefin.html

1. Technology is the technical means people use to improve their surroundings. It is also a knowledge of using tools and machines to do tasks efficiently.

2. Technology is people using knowledge, tools, and systems to make their lives easier and better.

3. Technology is ‘that which man uses to control his environment’ or ‘the ways that man brings nature under his control’.

4. Technology is the use of knowledge, skill and resources to meet human needs and wants and to recognise and solve problems by investigating, designing, developing and evaluating products, processes and systems.

5. Technology is defined as the application of scientific discoveries to the production of goods and services that improve the human environment. It includes the development of new materials, machinery, and processes that improve production and solve technical problems.

6. Technology is the means by which a tangible or intangible product or service is produced or offered in the market.

7. Technology is means for accomplishing a task and includes whatever is required to convert resources into products or services.

8. Technology includes the knowledge and resources that are required to achieve an objective.

9. Technology is defined as the transformation of materials, energy and information.

10. Technology refers to more than just the physical processes that transform inputs to outputs and the specifications for those inputs and outputs. It also refers to the procedural and organizational arrangements for carrying out the transformations.

11. Technology is the study of practical arts or (by analogy with biology or anthropology) the science of the industrial arts.

12. The sum of ways in which social groups provide themselves with the material objects of their civilization.

16. Technology is the discipline by which humans utilize their scientific knowledge to change or manipulate the physical world or create tools to enable them to do so.

17. The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives or the entire body of methods and materials used to achieve such objectives.

18. Technology refers to all the ways people use their inventions and discoveries to satisfy their needs and desires.

19. The application of discoveries to the production of goods and services that improve the human environment.

21. Technology is the use of tools and processes to make our lives better by extending our human capabilities.

22. A technology consists of the physical and informational resources by which people can systematically bring about some desired result.

23. Technology can be defined as the use of knowledge and resources to solve problems and extend human abilities.

24. Technology is generally a combination of hardware and software with relative proportions varying from one extreme to the other. Hardware is any physical product, component or means, while software is the know-how, technique or procedure. Hardware technology again can be of two types, namely the end use product type such as automobiles, computers, televisions, and the production tool type such as instruments, equipments and machinery. Software technology can also be considered as being of two types, namely the “know-how” type technology such as processes, techniques, methods and the “know-why” type technology such as knowledge, skills and experience.

25. Technology is an application of knowledge that leads to production and marketing of goods and services.

26. Technology may be defined as the specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavour.

27 Technology – a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods or knowledge.

28. Technology can be informally described as any tool invented after a person is born.

29. Technology is the systematic application of knowledge, materials, tools and skills to extend human capabilities.

30 Technology may be defined as practical knowledge, know-how, skills and artifacts that can be used to develop and market a new product or service.

31 Technology is the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.

32 Technology – thing that a civilization creates to increase productivity and make life easier.

33. Technology is defined as the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area.

34. The practice, description and terminology of any or all of the applied sciences which have practical value and/or industrial use.

35. Technology is a dialectical and cumulative process at the center of human experience.

36. The word “technology” comes from Greek words, ‘techne’ meaning ‘industrial arts’, and ‘logos’ meaning ‘study of’. Hence, technology implies a systematic study of industrial arts.

37. Technology refers to the tools people use in doing goal-directed work. It includes,

Physical tools, the implements and machines developed to do work more efficiently are the most obvious elements in technology. Human tools include knowledge, abilities, attitudes and organization.

38. Technology is an effort to convert some of the advances in scientific knowledge into products in the market place for the consumer (individual or institutional) or into infrastructure that can enable services.

39. Technology is man-made; it is a means to enhance the physical and mental capability of human beings; it is also an instrument to transform natural resources into useful goods; a tool for conditioning the environment; it is a resource for creating more employment opportunities and development; it is a commodity which is bought and sold.

40. Technology – application of the intelligence of man towards making his life more comfortable.

43. Technology – application of knowledge that leads to production and marketing of goods and services.

44. Technology – an activity of applying organized knowledge to the development of tools, products and processes for human purposes.

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Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India

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